Last night VH1 aired the much anticipated TLC Biopic Crazy S*xy Cool and from the looks of the conversations on Twitter and Facebook, fans were pleased with the final project. Watching the movie, which starred Keke Palmer as Chilli, Drew Sidora as T-Boz, and Lil Mama as Left Eye, was at times eerie due to the resemblance the actresses have to the real group members — particularly Lil Mama. But even though the TV project explained many lingering questions about the biggest girl group of the ’90s, like how exactly they went broke, we still have a few lingering questions based on last night’s story.
Where were TLC’s mothers?
OK so we all know there was an absentee father epidemic going on with all of the ladies of TLC, but one thing that did seem to be consistent, according to the movie, was the presence of their mothers. This is why I can’t wrap my head around the fact that they thought it was OK for Pebbles to hit their daughters with the nonsense that was a $25/week stipend. Sure, the girls were (barely legal) adults by the time their debut album came out in ’92, but at some point somebody’s mama needed to give Pebbles a quick slap to the face for doing T-Boz, Chilli, and Left Eye like she did — like the moment she gave them Toyota Rav 4s after selling 1 million records and told them they still wouldn’t see any money.
And By The Way, What Was Pebbles’ Issue With Chilli?
TLC has talked about the fact that T-Boz was Pebbles’ favorite, but what’s not completely clear is why their manager had it out for Chilli, almost from the get go. From watching the movie, I can only assume Chilli’s budding relationship with Dallas Austin made Pebbles nervous that he might distract her from success, i.e. making Pebbletone rich, which was actually a legit concern considering how things went down. But Pebbles’ Ike Turner-Joe Jackson-esque persona just made her seem plum nuts and like she had a personal vendetta against Chilli that was baseless.
How Much Did the Girls Get In Their Settlement?
The most hardcore part of the movie, in my opinion, was when TLC rolled into Clive Davis’s office and demanded they get their due pay after selling millions of records worldwide with their first two albums. In the scene, Clive says he’ll make sure the girls get what’s owed to them, and in real life we know the ladies received a settlement, but what we don’t know is how much and whether TLC ever really got the type of money they should have for their global success. And as a secondary question, why the hell is LaFace so shady? Ugh.
Who was ol’ girl with the blonde curly fro on the red carpet talking stuff?
The ultimate question everyone had last night was who was this person supposed to be? While the girls were walking the red carpet at the Grammy Awards in 2000, this chic came out the blue throwing shade at Left Eye and then Chilli had to put her in her place. Of course, this could have just been a random hater, but for the scene to be included in the movie, we’re all assuming she’s supposed to be a celebrity who was hot at the time, we just don’t know who. Despite the fact that she looks like Beyonce from the “Freak ’em Dress” video, Bey wasn’t on that level as a solo artist back then, and we’re going to assume all the other guesses of Blu Cantrell (huh?), Lil Kim, and Mariah aren’t right either.
Who the hell Authorized This Rav 4 Purchase?
The second leading question of the night was how in the entire hell did Pebbles get away with buying the girls Rav 4s after they made her millions of dollars — even if it was the ’90s! Some have shadily pointed out the whips were a step up from Chilli’s Beetle and the nonexistent cars T-Boz and Left Eye didn’t have, but how Pebbles handed TLC the keys to these cars with a straight face and didn’t catch beat down is, to me, the biggest TLC mystery ever.
What did you think about #CrazyHotCool? Do you have any other questions about TLC’s story?
